Application Ser. No. 590,121 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,379,235 and 4,469,955 disclose two types of float systems specifically adapted to efficiently generate power during the fall of a wave and the rise of a wave, respectively. The drawback of both systems is that in each case, one half of the wave period is not used to drive the flywheel. As a result, not only does half the wave energy remain unutilized, but the flywheel has to be quite sizable to avoid excessive speed variations within long wave periods. Also, neither system is equally efficient with all types of waves, the system of application Ser. No. 590,121 being more efficient with shorter period waves, and the system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,235 being more efficient with longer period waves.
The prior art has proposed using generator drive mechanisms which utilize both directions of movement of a float to generate power. This is not a good solution, however, because the drag produced by the power-generating load slows the travel of the float and prevents it from making a full stroke in either direction.
Another problem of the prior art was the inability of wave power generating systems to adequately accommodate the wide variety of wave heights and periods which occur in practice on both a daily and a seasonal basis.